THE BEST ADVICE I RECEIVED @ 27 - Kenyon's Blogversation
One day there was a young man walking down the hospital hallway on the 9th floor. He was on his way to visit with his father. His dad was on his deathbed and preparing to transition to the other side, and he wanted to go see him one last time before God called him home.
But on his way to the room—at the end of the hallway—he couldn’t help but notice another man sitting on his bed in another room. He seemed alone. So the young man detoured into the room of the stranger. The frail man turns his head to the right and looks at the young man walking in and he smiles. It was as if he’d been expecting the young man all day.
The elderly man said, “God has answered my prayer.”
“What is it that you asked for sir,” the young man replied.
“I kept asking God if he could give me one more chance to get it right, I’d tell some young buck coming up the truth before I died.”
“And what exactly is the truth old man?”
“Why, I’m glad you asked my friend. Truth is I was living, but I never lived. I worked my soul away. Each day I worked harder and longer than the next. I never took the time to take in no fresh air, enjoy no view, and now I’m telling you. The enemy comes but to kill, steal, and destroy; but God Almighty comes so that we might have Life, and it more abundantly. Truth is, none of what I did really matters now. I have nothing to show for it. Nobody to give the results of my efforts to. No wife. No children. No legacy. No nothing. Truth is, I should’ve married. I should've had kids. I should've laughed at her corny jokes. I should've cried when my babygirl came into this world. I should've lived more.”
The old man looked up to the sky and breathed his last breath, then he died. The young man backed out of the room as the doctors and nurses came rushing in. He continued down the hallway—on his way to see his father—but he couldn’t get what the old man had said out of his mind.
As he walked on, he was distracted by another man laying on his deathbed in his room. Something drew him into the room where the man’s wife and children stood weeping over him. The man laid there in his bed looking up toward heaven. Tears rolling down the side of his face.
The young man could hear his sincere apologies to his family, “I’m sorry for not being there. I should’ve been there more. I’m sorry for not hearing you. I should’ve listened more. I’m sorry for not taking you out. We should’ve dated more. I’m sorry I didn’t say I love you. I should’ve loved you more. I’m sorry for not teaching you. I should’ve guided you more. I was too busy in my own little world that I treated you like a chore. And now I’m here about to transition. My life’s at its benediction. Now I know all too well what the saying means. For I never got to truly live my dreams. The enemy comes but to steal, kill, and destroy, but God comes that you might have life and it more abundantly.”
The man closes his eyes and his soul transitions into eternity. His wife and kids wail at the sound of the monitor flatlining. Their covering now gone. Leaving them incomplete and alone.
The young man is freaked out by now. Two of the same type of instances on that hospital floor in just 5 minutes. With the fear that his father might not be there when he arrived to his room, he ran down the hallway. He rushes into his father’s room, and there his ailing father was lying in bed. The young man runs over and gives his father a huge hug, laying on his father’s chest his head. Tears begin to roll down the young man’s face.
His father takes a deep breath and says, “Son, I thought you’d never arrive. I was waiting on you before I died.”
The young man says, “Dad, I wish you could stay here with me forever. I need you here by my side.”
“Not as much as I need you to live your life.”
The young man slowly sits up in amazement. That’s the same thing the last two gentlemen preached before they transitioned. “What do you mean Dad,” he says.
“Listen Son. The Lord is calling many of us in this generation home today. We’ve had our fair time. I just wish I would have been more wise. Son, I’ve made millions in my lifetime, yet I never spent a dime on my own happiness. And I got nothing to show for it. I leave with you and your mother absolutely nothing. It’s not because I didn’t want to, it’s just because I didn’t do right. I spent all I had on everyone else, but I failed to invest in my real wealth. I failed to take you on camping trips. I forgot to take my wife out on dates. And to top it all off, I saved nothing for the retirement I promised your mother. We were supposed to travel the world. But none of that happened because I was afraid. Son, I’m 62 years old and I’ve been living afraid all my life. I was afraid of being a horrible husband, and it happened. I was afraid of being a screw up father, and I was. I was afraid of losing all of my business and fortune, and I did. I realize now that my own fear and doubt paralyzed me from living the good life. Instead, I stayed within. None of this would’ve happened if I would’ve just lived in the moment. Enjoyed the gifts that God was freely giving and letting it all happen the way it was meant. But because I held on for dear life—because I held on too tight—I missed the good life.”
“Son, if there’s one thing I want you to know, it’s this: LIVE. Live your life to the fullest and don’t let fear, unforgiveness, doubt, hate, distrust, drunkenness, addiction or any of that stuff hold you up or steal your best moments. Cuz before you know it, you’ll be facing this same crossroad. You’ll be staring death in the face, and you too will wonder what the hell you did with your life; and why didn’t you just live? So Son, promise me you’ll choose Life.”
The young man looked at his father with tears flooding his face. “Yes Father. I’ll live.”
The young man’s father reached out his right hand and wiped the boy’s tears away. He smiles at his son and says, "The enemy comes but to kill, steal, and destroy. But our God has come that you might have Life and Son you can have it more abundantly." Then the man takes his final breath. His hand drops to the bed.
I know this Proverb might seem a little long, but it’s worth being read. I think I have something worth being said. You’d be amazed at how many people die on full. They never emptied out their vessels. They never enjoyed life or any waking moment. Living was always pushed off until the next day, or the next check, or the right circumstance. Truth is, you'll never live if you keep waiting on better situations. Life is fluctuating. It's never steady. So you might as well choose to ride it like the roller-coaster that it is. Throw your hands up, scream to the top of your lungs with exhilarating joy, and let God ride you into destiny!
Sadly, many people live on autopilot and have missed all of the good stuff God had planned for them on this side. Let this Proverb be a lesson to you this Holiday Season.
Slow down. Take in the fresh air. Clear your mind of what you’ve got to do next and simply live in the moment for once in your life. Let go of the grudges, stomp the heck out of fear. Don’t live in regret and doubt. And stop second-guessing yourself. You’re worth it. God said so at Calvary. Take a moment to live. LIVE MY FRIENDS! Don’t be so busy that you forget to live.
This Holiday Season, I’m thankful for Life and Life more abundantly. #IChooseLife
I had to write this y’all and get it off my chest. It’s been on me all day. Now back to living and enjoying with my family…
Stay tuned for the next “Kenyon’s Blogversation…” And since it’s Black Friday, go on and take advantage of me and J’s (wifey) new sunglasses line DudlVision @ www.kenyonrdudley.com/dudlvision #ChristmasShopping
